Hourglass
by fishylishy
Summary: -AU, Oneshot, ZxL-Dependence on someone is dangerous, dependence on something is deadly, fatal, and wonderful. The wolves always went for the weakest of the pack...-T for violence and use of drugs. Character death is involved.-


**I hate it when I have random drabble ideas, but here's one. It's a little depressing, actually. AU, oneshot, modern-day, LxZ, and I don't own the origin of LoZ…blah, blah, blah. You can paint the picture.**

**Other facts—in this story, Sheik is a girl. Sheik is Zelda's darker side that crazes violence, gang life, and drugs. Which is ultimately what killed her.**

**What song sets the mood of this piece? It's All Over by Three Days Grace. Listen to it if you care to. Or "Time of Dying" by Three Days Grace. Or Never Too Late. You get the canvas, paint it…**

**Why'd I rate it T? Violence, use of drugs, cursing, murder, ect…**

**Summary: As many of you know, Sheik is a warrior. I got a little tired of Sheik being a good guy in a lot of stories, considering in SSBB, he looks like an assassin. After listening to Three Days Grace all the time, I got this idea.**

**Don't read if you don't have tissues nearby, trust me. –Please, please, please DO NOT comment if you're just whining about character death.— **

"_**Your bottle's almost empty….the needle breaks in your skin." –Three Days Grace**_

Dependence on other people is dangerous. Dependence on other things is deadly, fatal, and wonderful. As Link looked down at me with pleading, anguished aqua eyes, I knew it was time to go. "Cut it, Doc," He whispered. The air was ripped from my lungs and a cloud of air invaded my mind. It was cold, unfamiliar, but warming and welcoming. I slipped into it, losing the last thing I had—my life.

()()()()()()()()()()

"I'm not giving you anymore money, Zel," Link sighed, voice husky. I groaned, my body itching for Heroin needle to wash away all those troubles, all that stress, and all of my control. It wasn't my doing…or I had thought in the beginning. The demon in me, referred to by my counselor and grandmother Impaz as "Sheik". Sheik was a monster that had killed me from the inside. I tried to feel anguish, but I could only feel eagerness for the high that was coming to me soon. "Zelda, this will kill you. If Heroin doesn't, then this gang—the Gerudos—_will_. I can't lose you, Zel."

My words came out harsh, not soft, like I wanted them to. Sheik was rousing in me, restless and wanting the drug to be in our body. "You already have. You're just feeding my needs."

Link groaned. "Zel…have you looked in a mirror lately?" He reached across the Camry's seats, pulling down the passenger mirror. I tried not to look, but it was impossible.

Yes, my words were true, I realized. I was already lost to the world of Hyrule. I was dead, rotted. My pale face was acne scarred, my brown hair was matted into a bun looking thing on my head, curly and rough. My green eyes were too wide, needy, bloodshot. My soft face was distorted into something monstrous. The wife beater and trousers I wore hardly concealed my needle scars, let alone my gun. "I'm sorry," I whispered. Sheik pounded for control of my mouth, finally breaking the barrier I had set. "_**No, I'm not.**_"

I pushed Sheik out of my control center. "Love you," I whispered softly, accepting the heap of cash Link slipped into my hand. "I'll get a ride back to your apartment."

"Don't die," He pleaded brokenly, but he was lost to me. I ran down the alley, the stone buildings narrow above me. I ran into the shadows, past the dumpsters and stray cats, behind the shadow of the ivy plants, and under the chain link fence. The ragged chain punctured my back through the wife beater, but I didn't care. I only felt the need for the drug, the need for the impulse, the need for the poison.

There was the gang, all wearing the same outfit I was. Needles were scattered on the ground, amongst wallets and condoms and any other dirty object that was known to man. I breathed a sigh of relief as the ash filled air entered my lungs. Sean, the gang leader, nodded. He was quite a character—long, blonde and black hair that was ragged to his shoulders. He had dark skin and sharp, angled features. His brown eyes bore into me. "Yo, Ze. You up for a needle?"

I smiled, relieved. "I've got three grand. I want one now, and two for later. Got it?" Sheik tensed inside, waiting for me to hold the sharp needle and inject it into my forearm.

Nate, a wannabe that joined about a year ago, frowned. "You gonna turn us in, princess? Three grand's too low for the amount of buzz that's been catchin—"

"Shut up, Nate," Sean growled. He nodded at me, tossing the needle towards me. "I'll give you the rest later. Enjoy." I sighed, grabbing the rough, sterile needle with the strangely colored substance in it, stabbing it into my arm. My breath hitched, and I felt it enter my system. My body screamed, pushing itself to its limits, and then relaxing, then pushing….

I screamed in agony as the needle ripped from the injection site, jerking forcefully. Blood dripped and pain twisted into my now glowing line of site. "_What the fuck?!_" I yelled, clutching at the scarlet liquid on my forearm.

Nate held the bloody needle in his hand, squeezing the glass until it shattered. "You fuckhead, you gonna gimme your's to pay me back, huh?!" I yelled, my body yearning for more. Sheik was enraged; Sheik wanted me to kill this man who had disturbed my high. I felt Sheik's bloodlust combine with my high, raging for control. I tried to stave them off, my fists clenching. My head ached, my hand sliding from my arm to my forehead. My body slumped, mind spinning. My stomach lurched as the blood that I had carried from my arm slid down from my forehead, staining my vision. I fell against the alley floor, groaning. Acid overflowed in my throat and I vomited, moaning.

"Woah! Zelda!"

"That's not supposed to happen, dude!"

"Hold Nate down! He's gotta pay up!"

Sean yanked me up by the shoulders, roughly shaking me. Even Sheik couldn't control my body…we were so sick… "Zel, I'm using your gun on this punkass."

"Unloaded…no ammo…" I moaned, clutching my temple. Pain slashed in my body, overshadowing the high. Sean cursed.

"Fine, then. Lemme see all the Heroin y'all have got. I'll pay you back." Nobody hesitated in taking Sean's demand. I heard the rustling of clothing and wallets, and hard smacks as they held Nate down. My vision blurred back into focus and I saw Sean, surrounded by needles in the narrow area. My vision. Nate was face down on the floor, wildly fighting. Sean smirked, thrusting the first needle into his shoulder blade, then ripping it through the muscle. I could almost hear the flesh tear. Blood sputtered across the white material, exposing the rawness of his back's under-the-skin foundation. It was squirmish…disgusting. "You like that, punk? You wanna mess with my crew, huh?!"

He grabbed another needle, ripping it across Nate's head. Nate screamed, thrashing against the hold of gangsters. I groaned, agony and disgust filling me as the flesh was ripped, the overdose of Heroin slowly killing him…the blood was like an hourglass, and Heroin was the sand.

Nate's blood pool touched the edges of mine. His blood, my blood. We were only nineteen…naïve, foolish, addicted nineteen year olds…he would die here…_I_…"Stop…" I groaned. Sean didn't hear me. "STOP!" I pleaded.

Something smacked into me and I gasped as the world whirled around me. I felt my back be slam against the fence. "Stop, huh? That's what you say when I'm giving that punk pay back?! _Your_ pay back, bitch?!"

I groaned. His hands were hard on my neck, holding me up. It was hard to breath. "You…you don't have to kill him…cruelly." Agony ripped through me. A fist struck my face and I tasted blood.

"Yea, Princess? You resign from your little duties and leave it to your lil sis, then you come crying to me, wanting adventure and wanting to be grown up? Nate's not your fluffy dog!" Another fist. I groaned, Sheik trying to escape the pain. Another fist. I felt my body slip to the floor and kicks made their way into the violence. I screamed so much that I didn't even notice when my voice went.

I faded in and out of consciousness. I heard a gun cocking…they found ammo? I felt something trail from my mouth…blood? I didn't know. "Your fault, bitch," I heard Sean say. I tried to roll, to escape the round's path, but it hit anyway.

My body rocked in a sickening spasm. I couldn't tell where the bullet was, because the pain was _everywhere._ Was it in my head, which felt like I had set it on fire? Was it in my arm, which felt like I had poured acid on it? Where…what…

I heard a familiar voice. Link! What was Link doing here...? I tried to respond, only making a gurgling noise. I felt soft hands on me and heard frantic shouts. The pain took me under, finally, letting me rest.

()()()()()

A few times I awoke, not being able to speak, only being able to make motions with my hands. Tubes were everywhere and all I could see in my blurred vision was Link, his ash blonde shag overshadowing his face. He nodded at me, whispering, "I love you," and I mouthed "me too". Then electric beeps tuned out everything else.

_You were the weakest in your family._ I heard Sheik say in my mind. I wasn't awake, I was huddled in blackness—numb._ That's why I chose you. You needed…you would have been killed long before this without me._

_I can't hate you. You let me meet Link. You let me love him. I can't blame you for your nature. Where will you go when I pass on?_

_I'll find another host. Evil and good coexist. They balance each-other out. Without bad guys, there wouldn't be good guys._

_Do you know…if the Goddesses really exist and if there's an afterlife? Will I go to the Upper Realm or the Underworld?_

I heard Sheik chuckle. _Not your fault you were the weakest. You never gave up your faith, though. Let the "higher beings" decide that for ya._

_Nice living with you, Sheik. Thank you for letting me live…even for this short while._

Another chuckle. It faded as I heard Link's voice—"Cut it, Doc." And the hitch in the air as my breath was cut off. Link kissed my forehead. "Sleep now, Princess. Save me a spot up there. Love you."

I was dependent on Sheik, on Link, and on the worst nightmares. I regret it, but I don't. I got to meet Link, and I got to live. Isn't that enough?


End file.
